The film is split into two distinct "episodes," mirroring the structure of the TV show:
In the final, iconic sequence, Shinji, overcome with emotion and confusion, tries to strangle Asuka. Instead of fighting back, Asuka, in a gesture of shocking tenderness and ambiguity, simply raises her hand and touches his face. Shinji stops, weeping. The final line of the film is Asuka's: — a phrase that can be translated as "I feel sick," "How disgusting," or "I feel uneasy." The screen cuts to black. This is the ending. neon genesis evangelion the end of evangelion -1997-
Part one, , opens in the aftermath of narrative and emotional devastation. Shinji Ikari, the series' profoundly traumatized protagonist, is catatonic after being forced to kill Kaworu Nagisa, the last Angel who was also his only friend. He visits the comatose Asuka Langley Soryu in a hospital, and in a moment of absolute degradation, masturbates over her unconscious body, a scene designed to be as repulsive as it is psychologically revealing—a raw depiction of loneliness, sexual frustration and self-loathing. Meanwhile, the secret cabal SEELE dispatches the Japanese military to assault NERV headquarters and seize the Evangelion units, hoping to forcibly initiate Third Impact and the Human Instrumentality Project on their own terms. A brutal massacre unfolds. Misato Katsuragi, the surrogate mother figure to Shinji and Asuka, is fatally shot while trying to rescue Shinji, but not before giving him a final, ambiguous kiss and imploring him to pilot Unit-01. In a last stand of stunning ferocity, Asuka, having re-established her will to live after sensing her late mother's soul within Unit-02, re-activates and single-handedly destroys the invading military force before being torn apart by the nine Mass Production Evangelion units deployed by SEELE. When they finish mutilating her Evangelion, they impale Unit-02 with a massive replica of the Lance of Longinus, ending the battle that many consider the most brutal in anime history. The film is split into two distinct "episodes,"